A scene from ‘The Scent of Green Papaya,’ the 1993 film by director Tran Anh Hung

Japanese audiences finally get a peek this week at director Tran Anh Hung’s film adaptation of “Norwegian Wood,” the best-selling novel by Haruki Murakami.

But it has been a long journey.

The Vietnamese-French director of the Oscar-nominated “The Scent of Green Papaya” (1993) first wanted to adapt the 1987 novel, which takes its title from the Beatles song, more than 15 years ago.

“I read it when it was translated into French in 1994,” says the director. He was gripped by the story, about a university student in 1960s Tokyo and his complicated love affairs with two women, and immediately decided he wanted to turn it into a movie. But Mr. Murakami was reluctant and it was years before the Japanese novelist finally agreed to a film version after reading the director’s script.

“Norwegian Wood,” which held its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in September, stars Kenichi Matsuyama as the young student, and Rinko Kikuchi and Kiko Mizuhara as his romantic interests. It opens in Japan on Saturday and in other parts of Asia over the next several weeks.

Q: What appealed to you about the novel?
A: The first time I read the book, I liked it so much that I didn’t want to read other books by the author. I wanted to keep the very fresh feeling from “Norwegian Wood.” What is really great in the book, between the lines — between the narration — there is something that works in a really mysterious way. We feel that there is a very intimate relationship between the book and the reader. I wanted to find something to bring this kind of feeling to the audience and to bring out something deeply hidden inside of people. That was the most important thing.

Q: How did you approach Mr. Murakami with the idea to adapt his novel?
A: I sent him a letter and told him something very simple: ‘Since you don’t allow people to adapt your books, how about the idea of meeting to talk about an adaptation?’ And he said ‘yes.’

Q: How did you retain the sense of the novel in your script?
A: I like to have music in the lines, so I prefer longer sentences. When you have short lines, you have rhythm. But longer sentences give it melody.